The Best Lacrosse Team in Utah History? Club Recaps and New High School Coaches
Plus: Job Openings at Several Schools
Good morning lacrosse fans! We are inching closer to lacrosse season and we can not wait. We have a quick question:
The thought would be to keep it at 1 (every Monday), 2 (High School on Monday, College on Tuesday) or 3+ (a mix of content throughout the week). Let us know above!
Is this the Best Team from Utah?
To pass the time during the offseason, I occasionally do what any lacrosse fan does and scour the newspaper archives for old lacrosse stories. Wait, you don’t do that? No worries, I’ll do it for you!
The latest find comes from the June 15, 2013 issue of the Park Record. I found this gem of an image which may contain some familiar faces. It’s of the 2013 U15 National Team that went to Florida as part of the National Lacrosse Championship. I started to think about the names underneath and asked myself: Is this the best team from Utah that has ever been assembled? Let’s take a look.
Let’s start with the obvious. Cole Matthew Fairman, a.k.a. Bubba Fairman, went on to play college ball for Maryland and won the 2022 NCAA National Championship with the Terps. He went on to be drafted 11th in the PLL draft and currently plays for the Boston Cannons (2x Championship Series Champ) as well as coaches locally. Bubba was an All-American pick in 2016 while at Brighton.
Then there’s Beau Pederson, who played at Princeton, then played a grad year at Michigan, and is now with the hometown Archers where he won the 2024 PLL Championship. Pederson played for Park City where he was a 2x Utah All-American.
Don’t forget Josh Stout, the face of the Utah Lacrosse transition to D-I, who also won the 2024 Championship Series with the Cannons. He was a 2x Utah All-American in high school at Lone Peak.
So far we’ve got 3 PLL players from this one team. Let’s continue.
Chris Belcher: A 2x Utah All-American from Alta who went on to play for the Utah club team and the 2019 D-I team.
Max Asay: 2015 State Champion with Corner Canyon.
Dallin Bentley: 2016 Blake Strebel award winner from Bingham who went on to play three seasons at BYU.
Josh Hales: Played two seasons at BYU and was a 2017 Utah All-American and Academic All-American.
Andrew Karner: 2017 Utah All-American.
Gage Fisher: Olympus grad who played a season at Westminster.
Ryan Lunt: Also an Olympus grad who played a season at UVU.
JJ Pickard: Went to The Hill School in Pennsylvania before playing a season at Jacksonville.
Doug Gosselin: The Judge alum went on to play four great seasons at Cal Poly.
Full list of players: Max Asay, Chris Belcher, Dallin Bentley, Dallan Dixon, Matthew Everton, Keaton Eyring, Cole Matthew Fairman, Gage Fisher, Cameron Folkersen, Doug Gosselin, Josh Hales, Zachary Hamel, Hunter Horsley, Andrew Karner, Ryan Lunt, Tate Merrill, Zac O’Neal, Beau Pederson, Justin ‘JJ’ Pickard, Nolan Richard, Griffin Seifert, Josh Stout, Oli Shaw and Sheridan Buchholz.
I’d be remiss to not give a nod to Walker Bateman as one the coaches on the team, pictured on the far left. He is the reason I played lacrosse in the first place. He’s coached thousands of players and has been an ambassador to the sport for 25+ years.
So, what do you think? Is this the best team to ever assemble from Utah?
Boys Coaches Updates
There are several new head coaches this year so we reached out to a few for a quick Q&A.
Kamden Cooper - Clearfield
ULR: What is your lacrosse background?
Cooper: I started playing in 4th grade and played all through my high school career, and now I play in a men’s league with my coaching staff. I was also the Offensive Coordinator at Clearfield and JV Head Coach for the last 3 years.
ULR: What are you looking forward to the most about coaching?
Cooper: I am looking forward to getting to know the boys and building a relationship with them as a coach. I want to make sure they have fun and learn life skills. Everyone loses, even the best teams. It just depends on how you handle it.
ULR: What else should people know about you?
Cooper: I snowboard, like to ride motorcycles, listen to music, play video games, and hit the field whenever I can.
William Smith - Copper Hills
ULR: What is your lacrosse background?
Smith: I grew up in the Roy program and started playing lacrosse in the 5th grade. I played long stick midfield at Roy and was a two-year starter and three-time varsity letter winner. I started coaching at the Utah Military Academy, where I spent 2 seasons. I then moved to the Copper Hills youth program for 3 seasons, and was the Northridge Defensive Coordinator for the last 3 years before coming to Copper Hills.
ULR: What are you looking forward to the most about coaching?
Smith: I’m looking forward to the high level of talent that Copper Hills has to offer, developing these players, and making Copper Hills into a 6A powerhouse.
ULR: What else should people know about you?
Smith: I have spent 10 years in the Utah Army National Guard with HHB 65th Field Artillery and am currently working at Sportsman’s Warehouse as a Fishing Demand Planner. I am an avid fisherman, and I make killer smoked mac and cheese. I am also currently playing for the Hunters in the Utah Box Lacrosse Series.
Max Roberts - Timpanogos
ULR: What is your lacrosse background?
Roberts: I played at Timpanogos and BYU. I have been coaching as the offensive coordinator at Timpanogos for the past four years. Additionally, I coached a summer with True Lacrosse.
ULR: What are you looking forward to the most about coaching?
Roberts: I am extremely excited for this season because of the returning talent we have. We are an extremely experienced team, composed of many juniors and seniors. Having been around the program (as both a player and coach), this might be one of the most talented groups in Timpanogoss’ lacrosse history. These boys have been working extremely hard and have bought into the vision for this season.
ULR: What else should people know about you?
Roberts: I have an amazing wife, Kenzie, and two boys, Myles and Mckay. I love spending time with my family and all things sports.
Girls Coaches Updates
David Martin - Alta
ULR: What is your lacrosse background?
Martin: Growing up in Maryland, lacrosse was a big deal. I was introduced to the sport 18 years ago as a strength and conditioning coach. I grew up playing baseball, skateboarding, skiing, and football, but I never played lacrosse.
My background is in athlete development for over 30 years. I was introduced to girls’ high school lacrosse by a friend who was coaching and was looking for ways to get her players faster, stronger, more powerful, and with fewer injuries. The following season, I was offered a job as a coach, and the rest is history, beginning my 18-year career in girls’ lacrosse.
This is my second season coaching in Utah. Last year, I joined Corner Canyon girls lacrosse as the JV Head Coach. We finished the season 13-5, the second-best record in the state for JV, and the first season in a few years with a winning record.
ULR: What are you looking forward to the most about coaching?
Martin: Seeing the players develop into a confident, stronger, and faster team, and watching the magic happen on the field.
Amanda Hunter- Mountain View
ULR: What is your lacrosse background?
Hunter: I started playing lacrosse when I was about 5 years old in Portland, OR. I have always played midfield because I love to be in all the action!
ULR: What are you looking forward to the most about coaching?
Hunter: I have been coaching at MVHS for 5 years now, and I have enjoyed teaching lots of new lacrosse players. Each season I most look forward to building the girls up, developing their lacrosse skills, and their character.
ULR: What else should people know about you?
Roberts: I enjoy being active with my husband, hiking, playing tennis, swimming, and running. I also love reading and learning and will start my doctorate in nursing practice after this season. I want to start my own clinic to work with youth and young adults who are athletes and have comorbidities such as cancer or diabetes to optimize their health with a holistic approach.
Hannah Jones - Viewmont
ULR: What is your lacrosse background?
Jones: I started playing lacrosse in 7th grade and continued through high school at Davis High. I then played at UVU until my college career was cut short due to COVID. A couple of years later, I got into coaching. I first worked with the JV program at Lehi High School, then moved to Viewmont, where I’ve been an assistant coach up until this year.
ULR: What are you looking forward to the most about coaching?
Jones: I’m most excited to help the younger generation of lacrosse players learn to love the sport as much as I do. I really enjoy seeing players grow and improve throughout the season, and I have so much fun working with the girls!
ULR: What else should people know about you?
Jones: Outside of coaching, I’m a stay-at-home mom to my almost 3 year old boy, and we’re expecting a baby girl in March!
Club Updates
Girls: Last weekend, girls’ teams headed to Las Vegas this past weekend for the Adrenaline Sin City Showdown. Squads from True Force, Utah Lynx, Utah Wild and MaxLax hit the fields for two days of action playing against teams from all over the region.
The Utah Lynx 28/29 had the best weekend of all the Utah teams, making it to the finals before losing in overtime to Seattle CitySide by a single point. Their sister team, the high school elite didn’t have as much luck, losing four of their five games before finally pulling out a 7-6 win in the last match.
True Force had a strong Saturday, sweeping all three of their games. They fell to Celly on Sunday before finishing with another win against a Vegas Strong squad.
Utah Wild also had four wins for the weekend. They were finally defeated in their final game by the CitySide team that would go on to triumph over the Utah Lynx 28/29 girls.
MaxLax had a mixed weekend with two wins and one loss on Saturday, and a single win and loss on Sunday.
Boys: Two weekends ago, several boys’ teams from Utah had great performances at the Legends National Cup.
Utah Summit won the 2026, 2027 AA and 2030 championships. The 2026 team went 6-0 on the weekend with a 10-6 win over Stags in the championship game. The 2027 team also went 6-0 and showed grit in the playoffs winning each game by 1 goal with a 5-4 win over MD Pacific Central in the championship. The 2028 (AA) team went 3-2, losing in the semis to the eventual champion, GWB Pacific 2028. The 2029 (AA) team went 2-2-1 and lost in the semis. Summits two 2030 teams competed in the AA division with the Gold team winning it all with a 6-0 record. The Red team was 2-3 on the weekend.
True UT was also in attendance with several teams: 2027 (AA) finished 1-4, 2028 (AA) finished 0-5, 2029 (A) finished 1-4 and the 20230s finished 0-5.
801Tribe took a 2028 team and competed in the A division, going 2-2-1.
You can find the All-Tournament team on Instagram.
Job Openings
Boys
Bonneville Head Coach - More Info
Cedar Assistant Coach (x2) - More Info
Sky View Head Coach - More Info
Girls
Alta Assistant Coach - More Info
Roy Head Coach - More Info
Salem Hills Assistant Coach - More Info
Waterford Head Coach - More Info
That’s it for this week! We are planning on big things for the 2026 season and think it will be the best ever.